A Relaxing Day Out
by annasfanfic
Summary: All Harry wants is a relaxing day out, instead he's given a crash course in the crazy of the Wizarding World.


Harry scratched his head and glanced down at the map in his hand, totally confused. He glanced up at the nearest painting, titled only 'Bluebell Bluebell' which featured random flowers morphing into other more random flowers and glanced down at the map hoping to identify the painting on the map, but it was already changed from before. He huffed out a growl and grumbled to himself. He hadn't even been planning to come to the museum today, he hadn't even known the magical world had any museums. In retrospect it made sense, after all they had magical portraits, naturally they'd want them to been seen in more places than just their homes.

Still he hadn't known, all he wanted to do was have a relaxing day exploring Diagon Alley, something he hadn't ever gotten the chance to do before the war. He could count the number of times he'd been there on one hand. It had started out pleasant enough, he'd found several interesting stores but then it had started raining. It'd never been raining any time he'd been there before, an oddity he'd never really considered previously, as it was London after all.

In retrospect it was awesome that he hadn't ever been unlucky enough to have wandered around while it was raining, as the rain was absolutely crazy. Sidewise, left wise, and he was certain he'd even seen the rain simply bounce off the ground and fly back upwards towards the sky. And it didn't slow down from the bounces, it sped up! With all the water flying at him, at faster and faster speeds, he'd quickly run into the nearest building.

Glancing around as he cast drying charms he'd found himself inside of an art museum. It was lucky that the owner had happily waved the fee for entrance for 'The-Boy-Who-Lived (!)' as he still hadn't sorted out his disagreements with the goblins. Thankful to be free of the weird rain outside he'd happily accepted the map and begun to wander, without paying any mind. A quick glance at his watch showed he'd been wandering for about three hours, which was odd because it felt like it hadn't been more than half an hour. Still it wasn't too odd, he'd simply lost track of time. A glance outside had revealed that the rain had stopped and he'd begun to try to find his way out.

That had been an hour ago and he had absolutely no clue where he was, still. The map helped in no way as the only references on it were random paintings names that he had to try to track down. He'd started out half a hallway away from 'Gray Mirage' he'd attempted to walk away from it towards 'The Imperial Blossom', which had been near the stairs down to the main floor. However, as he'd gotten near the painting, each time he'd glanced at the map it had gotten further and further from the stairs.

He'd tried following it on the map, but instead he'd ended up near a statue titled 'Delicate Brandy', which was a large mug of, what did indeed appear to be Brandy, and which was indefinitely overflowing onto a plate full of what appeared to be pixies. This statue was also supposedly two floors up from where he'd initially thought he'd been. Glancing at the map again had said he was now in the basement, if he was indeed near the statue, which was odd as he'd never climbed any steps. After wandering near aimlessly for half an hour more he'd finally managed to find steps, which appeared to be simultaneously be going up and down on different parts of the stairs, similar to the stairs up the headmaster's office, but far more uncontrolled.

After fighting his way up the stairs he'd finally found himself next to Bluebell Bluebell, which, if the map was to be believed, was in the middle of the, rather large, third floor. He groaned and sat on a bench. The bench was marked on the map as well and was, as he watched the map, moving up towards the fifth floor. It figures that a magical art museum would be just as confusing, and magical, as the art work it had contained. He'd thought, or perhaps assumed was the better term, that Hogwarts was the exception in its crazy, magically moving and changing building. But perhaps he'd been wrong, perhaps it was considered even more orderly than the rest of the magical community.

He'd wound up near what appeared to be a window to the outside despite having never felt like he was moving and he just stared out of it at the building across the street, wondering if he'd ever see the outside again. Suddenly a fish flew by. He groaned and threw his hands up. It wasn't even a real window! It was a painting! He glared at the map, which now said he was on the second floor and felt like throwing something. He'd just wanted a relaxing day, but now he was wandering around in a living Esher painting!

Suddenly he saw the first movement he'd seen outside of a painting in hours and he was immediately on his feet with his wand up and pointed. He heard a little eep(!) and saw a figure dive behind a statue that didn't really look like anything at all. "Hello?" He called out, looking around desperately for cover but finding none other than what the figure was hiding behind. He couldn't very well use the cover someone else was using, that would just be counterproductive. "Hello?" Called his voice back out at him. He glanced around and glared at a mirror that had echoed him.

He took a few steps forward and called out again, "Hello there?" From behind the statue came a small face who peeked out at him, "Could you point your wand somewhere else?" He glanced down and found his wand pointed at the figure he could now guess was a female. He sighed and slowly lowered it before running his hands through his hair. "Sorry, I'm just lost and frustrated, I just got a bit on edge." The figure slowly came from behind the statue and nodded, "Most people are still a bit on edge these days, it's a bit hard to believe the war is over." He nodded, that made sense, and it was true for him too. He let out a shaky breath as the woman continued, "I'm lost too, I didn't think to grab a map." He let out a half laugh, "Well it's not much use anyways, I've been trying to follow this thing for an hour and haven't been able to make heads or tails of it, everything keeps changing!"

She let out a short laugh then said, "You're a muggleborn aren't you?" Suddenly she stiffened, "Not that that's a bad thing! My best friend's a muggleborn! Just that most Muggleborns don't know how to use many magical things like that! That's all-" He rose up his hand to pause her and offered her a smile, "No I get it, and yeah I'm muggle raised." She didn't miss the distinction and raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any questions and instead said, "Right, well, can I see the map?" He offered it up to her and she pulled out her wand from an inner sleeve pocket. She was sure not to point it at him and only pointed it at the map as she said, very clearly, "Show me."

As Harry watched a small dot appeared on the map labeled Magicus Sparkloria Cinnariah Muffyssius. His eyebrows raised and he glanced up at her, "My friends call me Mag." He nodded as she continued, "You should do it too, or you could lose track of me if you glance away, and trust me, you will glance away." He nodded and pulled his own wand, also being careful to point it away from 'Mag', and the dot with Harry James Potter slowly appeared, with the added title of "The-Boy-Who-Lived' appearing beneath his name, as if he needed any clarification on that point.

He huffed out an annoyed breath as Mag gasped and began to thank him. He nodded and gave her the customary nod and 'it was no problem' that he'd begun to develop in recent months. Finally, she'd finished and let out a breath then looked around in embarrassment, "Oh right! I forgot to do the second part of the spell!" Sure enough, as neither of them had been watching they'd moved away from the statue titled 'Ultra Natural Steel' and were near a painting titled Sapphire Teal that featured a woman with unnaturally colored skin that was painful to look at.

She focused her wand back on the map and said, "I want to leave now." The map glowed and she smiled back down at him, "Now we just walk a bit and we'll find ourselves at the doors out. He nodded and they turned to walk away, "Thanks." They walked together for a while, Harry looking everywhere but at the girl who was studying him so intently. In a few minutes they found themselves at the door and Harry rubbed the back of his head, "Well it was nice to meet you, thanks for helping me find the way out."

"No problem, it was awesome to meet you too! Hey can you sign my map?" He refrained from pointing out that it was his map and instead said, "Uh- I would, but I don't have a quill. Or ink." "Oh! Hold on just a second! She patted her pockets until she pulled out a pot of ink and then a bit later a quill and offered them, and his map, off to him. He sighed and quickly scrawled his name out, as messily as possible. She smiled and happily shoved it and her quill and ink into her pockets. He pushed the door open and groaned, it was still raining! The rain was bouncing around as unpredictably as it had been before. He stepped out then turned on his heal and apparated away, feeling more stressed than he had before.


End file.
